I was amazed to learn yesterday that a fellow writer and online pal, Jory Sherman (who's written more books than God) not only knew and hung out with Richard Brautigan back in S.F. but also was one of Charles Bukowski's closet pals for years. Of course I think Bukowski, or as he often referred to himself in his poems, short stories and books - Henry Chianski - wrote with the rawness of an open wound. He is a man who suffered much and wasn't afraid to write about it, something aspiring writers and even those of us who've stopped aspiring long ago should keep in mind every time we sit down to tap, tap, tap out the words.
Bukowski is reported to have said, "If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul to lose." And: "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way."
Now I don't think Hank (also a Bukowski alter ego) would be the sort of guy I'd personally like to have hung out with a lot of the time because he drank a lot and often got surly and started fights with his friends and lovers. But from what I gather from Jory, and I don't think I'm telling any tales out of school here, Hank was also a very sensitive and kind man too, who felt everything maybe a little too much. Bukowski would not be alone in this sometimes fatal flaw of artists; many great writers have felt "too much" - and as a result it led to their ruin. The ones that quickly come to mind are Sylvia Plath and Papa Hemingway. Which to me simply proves that life is a two-edge sword that can either defend you or kill you.
So Hank, wherever you are right now, just know that your old pals and your fans haven't forgotten you and we still read your words, and though you are not every one's cup of tea, you're still getting invited to the tea party and celebrated at one crazy old bastard who wrote like the wind and gave us your beauty and your warts all the time whether we wanted them or not.
Now here's what happened on this day in history in case you wanted to know.
Paul Revere warned: "The British Are Coming!" - and the next thing we knew the Beatles showed up.
In 1895 New York State passed an act establishing free public baths and it hasn't been safe to drop your towel since.
The great San Francisco Earthquake struck in 1903 killing some 3,000 people.
74,000 fans showed up for the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923 and approximately 148,000 hot dogs with mustard was sold (this last part is simply a guess, figuring 2 hot dogs per - well, you get my logic here).
Michael Jackson had scalp surgery to repair damage done when his hair caught on fire filing a commercial and he found he liked be anesthetized and waking up looking different. The doctors call it "the white man look."
Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his role in Cat Ballou.
The first washateria opened in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1934
It is the birthdays of: Blues musician Clarance "Gatemouth" Brown, actor, James Woods, and talk show host Conan O'Brien. It is not however, either my birthday, or the birthday of the Garbini sisters.
A poem for the faint-hearted:
Hello I said.
Hello, I said.
Goodbye, she said.
What did I do? I said.
You know what you did, she said.
No, I don’t, I said.
Yes, you do, she said.
The last time I saw her
She was with some guy
Who sported a black
Moustache and dressed
Nicely. He looked like
A guy who didn’t have
Any trouble getting
Women, including mine. - Bill Brooks, circa 2007, or, thereabouts.
Bukowski is reported to have said, "If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul to lose." And: "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way."
Now I don't think Hank (also a Bukowski alter ego) would be the sort of guy I'd personally like to have hung out with a lot of the time because he drank a lot and often got surly and started fights with his friends and lovers. But from what I gather from Jory, and I don't think I'm telling any tales out of school here, Hank was also a very sensitive and kind man too, who felt everything maybe a little too much. Bukowski would not be alone in this sometimes fatal flaw of artists; many great writers have felt "too much" - and as a result it led to their ruin. The ones that quickly come to mind are Sylvia Plath and Papa Hemingway. Which to me simply proves that life is a two-edge sword that can either defend you or kill you.
So Hank, wherever you are right now, just know that your old pals and your fans haven't forgotten you and we still read your words, and though you are not every one's cup of tea, you're still getting invited to the tea party and celebrated at one crazy old bastard who wrote like the wind and gave us your beauty and your warts all the time whether we wanted them or not.
Now here's what happened on this day in history in case you wanted to know.
Paul Revere warned: "The British Are Coming!" - and the next thing we knew the Beatles showed up.
In 1895 New York State passed an act establishing free public baths and it hasn't been safe to drop your towel since.
The great San Francisco Earthquake struck in 1903 killing some 3,000 people.
74,000 fans showed up for the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923 and approximately 148,000 hot dogs with mustard was sold (this last part is simply a guess, figuring 2 hot dogs per - well, you get my logic here).
Michael Jackson had scalp surgery to repair damage done when his hair caught on fire filing a commercial and he found he liked be anesthetized and waking up looking different. The doctors call it "the white man look."
Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his role in Cat Ballou.
The first washateria opened in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1934
It is the birthdays of: Blues musician Clarance "Gatemouth" Brown, actor, James Woods, and talk show host Conan O'Brien. It is not however, either my birthday, or the birthday of the Garbini sisters.
A poem for the faint-hearted:
Hello I said.
Hello, I said.
Goodbye, she said.
What did I do? I said.
You know what you did, she said.
No, I don’t, I said.
Yes, you do, she said.
The last time I saw her
She was with some guy
Who sported a black
Moustache and dressed
Nicely. He looked like
A guy who didn’t have
Any trouble getting
Women, including mine. - Bill Brooks, circa 2007, or, thereabouts.
http://www.authorbillbrooks.com/
